The NRL is one continuous bucks party
Roar Pro
By LeftArmSpinner, 24 Jul 2008 The Crowd is a Roar Pro
It must be winter because the sports pages are full of NRL players getting drunk, abusing women and doing cowardly, criminal things.
This week we had two Canberra players, two Canterbury players, and eight Under-20 players in a brawl.
There are so many examples of this criminal behaviour, that I don’t need to search the archives for more evidence.
But here are a few just in case: Warriors Michael Crockett charged with rape; Hayne in Kings Cross; Kenny Dowall and Sa in Woolongong; Ben Roberts also in Woolongong; Daniel Conn on drugs charges; Ben Pomeroy on assault charges; Mason urinating in public …
We all know the problem, but we would probably still be surprised by the number of incidences.
There is no excuse.
Other people of the same age, with similar cash in their pockets, don’t carry on like this.
Forget the player drain. The class players will soon realise that they can’t afford to rely on this rogue element, particularly when it is not being dealt with.
Carney either urinated on someone’s leg or he didn’t. The evidence points to his guilt and he has form. Lots of it.
A memo to coaches: “Implement the ‘No Dickhead’ rule, for the sake of our teams, your clubs, and the code itself.”
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Andrew Marks said | July 24th 2008 @ 9:09am | Report comment
Could not agree more – Leftie. There is a perception with some young men that it is cool to be offisde with acceptable social behaviour – it gives them “manna” with their mates. This intense testostrone environment is further fuelled by alcohol resulting in extreme levels of juvenile boorish behaviour.
The solution is twofold. Education and ongoing mentoring of these young men is the first step. A non negotiable “no dickheads policy” by clubs – no matter how good a footballer may be, is the second.
This is not rocket science. Look at the wonderful standards of behaviour (on and off the field) set by Wayne Bennett, Paul Roos and Robbie Deans.
LeftArmSpinner said | July 24th 2008 @ 10:09am | Report comment
And before the article is even published, we get more news on the Raiders and allegedly the lengths that they will go to protect Carney.
I thought that Raiders Chairman, McIntyre’s comment was priceless “It is extremely disappointing” “We were just starting to get some momentum and now this.”
This comment makes Mark Wary of Mark loves Sharon fame look positively angelic.
McIntyre didn’t say, this is unacceptable behaviour, he didn’t say it damages the club, he didn’t say it damages the game, as it lurches from disaster to disaster, in the 100th year, mid season and just before the World ???? Cup.
Andrew, it is called the no d*ck heads rule and it applies to every team, old or young, G grade or A grade, sport or business or social! They are not worth the problems they cause.
sledgeross said | July 24th 2008 @ 10:12am | Report comment
While I agree with alot of what you said, we have to distinguish about what we nail people for. I mean, who hasnt gone out for a night and urinated in a place they wouldnt usually? For every 3 “scandals” about night club scuffles, Im sure (judging from my own experience) that at least 1 isnt directly the players fault.
Adrew makes a good point, its about education. These kids are usually from working class backgrounds and leave school at 17 to play footy, they have very little life skills. A bloke like Willy Mason for example. Making 80 grand a year from the age of 16 and living in the big smoke away from family with little support or someone to pull his head in when he goes silly. It is a cultural and social issue more than anything. These blokes SHOULD know that they have obligations.
True Tah said | July 24th 2008 @ 10:17am | Report comment
LAS,
a lot of these young blokes are paid big bucks, play their footy and train.
Get these guys proper jobs and this behaviour will be stamped out, the whole argument about rugby league being the sport of the working man is extinct, these guys are distanced from the working man by a significant margin. There is only so much training you can do in a day, I wonder what these guys do when they are not playing or training.
Having said that, a lot of these Islander boys are either Mormons or Christians, you won’t find guys like Folau or Inu out on the piss because they dont drink. I dont think its fair to tar all NRL players with the same brush, as there are plenty of outstanding young men in the comp, it just takes a few idiots to ruin it.
Andrew Marks said | July 24th 2008 @ 10:20am | Report comment
Leftie, my point is that you have to start with educating the young. That way you deal with and fashion behaviour from the outset.
Andrew Marks said | July 24th 2008 @ 10:24am | Report comment
TT – I cannot agree – just giving these guys “real jobs” is not going to solve this. This is a behavioural issue which gets exacerbated when on the piss, which usually happens out of work hours.
True Tah said | July 24th 2008 @ 10:57am | Report comment
Andrew, maybe the alternative is for these guys to study?
The point is, the life these guys are living is becoming more distant from the average punter. Sledgeross is right in that in most cases, it isn;t the footy players fault, you get some guy trying to be a hero in front of his mates by saying he took on an NRL player and put one on his chin…these guys should really just walk away if they can. Guys like this are wankers, and it says a lot about them that their claim to fame is that they gave some lip to a footy player.
A few years ago Jeremy Paul was bashed in a Canberra nightclub by these sort of guys.
Geoff Toovey CA obviously put the hard work in, juggling footy and his studies. Over in the UK, Dr Felipe Contemponi just finished his Medical degree.
Im sure there are NRL players doing some sort of study, as a hell of a lot of these guys are not earning big bucks like Mason and Co. How come players like Mason aren’t engaging in some form of study or something?
Andrew Marks said | July 24th 2008 @ 11:50am | Report comment
TT, I agree that study is certainly a worthwhile option and should be encouraged. A very good point.
However, the problem is that these guys these are primarily athletes first. They are usually indentified at a young age. Their ego’s are pampered by talent scouts and if they cut the mustard and get a contract, they are elevated, within their community, to almost rock star status. School work, let alone tertiary study, is the last thing on their minds. Combine a young testostrone filled athletic body, with an inflated ego, adoring women, money and alcohol and you have a time bomb wiating to go off.
Again, I would to reiterate, that the problem is behavioural which requires specific education or re-education followed by an on going mentoring program conducted by responsible, emotionally mature and respected men. Once this is in place, then study is the next logical step.
LeftArmSpinner said | July 24th 2008 @ 12:54pm | Report comment
sledgeross, I have never gone out, got pissed and the urinated on a mate’s leg or raped a girl, fled from police or assaulted someone.
We have heard it all before. NRL “education” hasn’t worked, getting jobs doesnt work either, simply because they know that they can get away with it, time after time. Seu Seu was booted from Newcastle and his first landing was at Shark Park!!! Carney palyed up several times and got a $400K contract. etc.
There is a line. it is very clear. Cross over that line and all hell should break loose, for the good of everyone.
Look at what Rugby did for Sailor. He went from not admitting it, to blaming others to anger to now being deeply and sincerely sorry and evangelistic against drugs. he is a better person for it.
Look at what swimming did with Darcy. Finished.
While League continues to ignore the basic principles of society, the game will decline. Money from pokies is dirty money, very dirty money. Criminal behaviour is criminal! The game is the one that suffers and it can only take so much. There is a cumulative effect.
Running charity events for a couple of bucks is now seen as a cynical attempt to distract the public. Yobbos on the Footy Show/s are now seen as just that, yobbos. The public are not that dumb.
Entertainment, be it on the field with strength, skill or tenacity or even some humour appeals to everyone. Funny nicknames (Audi for Junior Waugh when he scored 4 ducks), true characters, (Merv Hughes) victimless pranks within the team and teammates (Shaun Berne posing with a Teddy bear!!!!) or serial pests such as Pidgeon etc are good.
Other sports, and in particular, those in competition with league (and to a lesser extent, AFL) are very competitive in these areas. Soccer players have come to terms with having money and time and being under scrutiny. there are exceptions. the issue for Soccer is their crowds. I know. I was assaulted by a Syd FC spectator at the semi final earlier this year.
Rugby has had its moments. They got tough with Henjak and Saig. And they are now presenting their players and sport around class acts. Tahu is just one. Like Cross, low key, family men, brilliant on the field but respectful for the opportunities given to them. I particularly liked the way Tahu threw the press off the scent when negotiating with ARU. Burgess, Turner, Alexander, elequent, honest, personable, respectful. So grateful of the chance to represent their country.
Michael C said | July 24th 2008 @ 1:10pm | Report comment
I lived on campus at Uni for 3 years, back in the late 80s, early 90s. I lived in share houses too, and I must say – - – that I saw an awful lot of behaviour that would fit exactly with public perceptions of ‘football badboys’ that the public tries to attach :
A. to every footballer on the list
B. to ONLY cashed up professional footballers.
Blatantly wrong.
Most of this behaviour has been learned via upbringings – - – family, friends, school etc.
It’s all too easy to ‘blame’ or point the finger at the NRL or AFL players. However, instead of picking on the odd player who crosses the line (and at the ripe old age of 22 is expected to conduct himself with the wisdom and poise of a 45 yr old?!?!?) – - – we instead need to focus a little more on the well behaved, the positive role models,
and, also recognise that there’s a lot of wannabe ‘victims’ who go hunting out these players – - –
btw – - just recently, we saw a relatively well known Australian tennis player facing a date rape accusation……the accusation made bigger news than the throwing out of the charge – - – - reality is it was a rubbish accusation, however, perhaps, cynics in the media and general public assume that people are paid off to withdraw complaints……..well, on that front no doubt there are many who go seeking that pay off too.
Howe do you win?